At Inverness Airport, we provide a full range of assistance services to disabled passengers, passengers with learning difficulties and passengers with reduced mobility. This includes collection from the car park and assistance throughout the airport terminal, through security and departures and onto the aircraft. There are limits with regards to providing personal care. For example, we will assist passengers to the bathroom facilities but are unable to provide any further personal care that may be required. Similarly, we are also limited in the assistance we can provide with regard to administering medical treatments and operating medical equipment. If you feel you may need assistance within the bathroom cubicles or with any personal or medical care requirements, you will need to consider travelling with an escort.

How to obtain assistance

Passengers requiring assistance are requested to pre-book all assistance required at least 48 hours before the scheduled time of departure of their flight. This booking should be made with the passenger’s airline carrier, tour operator or travel agent. If this information is not made available within these time frames assistance may be limited or delayed. Carriage by the airline may also be denied. Best efforts will be made at all times to accommodate late bookings for assistance.

On entering the airport by road there are 10 disabled parking bays in the short stay car park in front of the terminal building. There are also 18 disabled bays in the long stay car park.

There is a push button call point located within the disabled parking bays which can be used by passengers who require assistance from the car park to the terminal. There is also a call point at the airport bus stop.

Blue badge holders parking within the short stay car park for more than 72 hours will qualify for long stay parking rates. If passengers require to take their blue badge with them on their travels, a copy should be left displayed inside the vehicle, or the information desk should be notified and given details of the vehicle.

NOTE: Car parking charges may be paid at the Pay on Foot machines or can be paid at the exit points by way of contactless credit/debit card or chip and PIN. Anyone requiring assistance or qualifying for long stay rates should contact the Information Desk before leaving the terminal building.

Airport Layout

Walking distances are provided below to assist those using the facilities.

Furthest disabled parking bay to terminal building entrance

107m

Furthest parking bay Car Park 1 to terminal building entrance

131m

Furthest parking bay Car Park 2 to terminal building entrance

160m

Furthest bus stop to terminal building entrance

86m

Furthest taxi drop off point to terminal building entrance

40m

Furthest check-in desk to departure gate

124m

Performance Standards

Our Service Level Agreement for departing and arriving passengers is as follows:

Departing Passengers

Arriving Passengers

For pre-booked departing customers

For pre-booked arriving customers

Upon arrival at the airport, once they have made themselves known:

Assistance should be available at the gate/aircraft side for:

80% of passengers wait no longer than 10 minutes for assistance

80% of customers within 5 minutes of on chocks

90% of passengers wait no longer than 20 minutes for assistance

90% within 10 minutes

100% of passengers wait no longer than 30 minutes for assistance

100% within 20 minutes

Subject to pre-notification 100% of departing customers/passengers who are at the designated point within the stipulated time should reach their aircraft in time to allow timely pre-boarding and departure.

For non-pre-booked departing customers

For non-pre-booked arriving customers

Upon arrival at the airport, once they have made themselves known:

Assistance should be available at the gate/aircraft side for:

80% of passengers wait no longer than 25 minutes for assistance

80% of customers within 25 minutes of on chocks

90% of passengers wait no longer than 35 minutes for assistance

90% within 35 minutes

100% of passengers wait no longer than 45 minutes for assistance

100% within 45 minutes

For those that have not pre-notified the airport will make all reasonable efforts to ensure that passengers reach the gate on time.

Passengers with reduced mobility have priority access to the security search area with a Fast Track Lane access point which bypasses the general queue.

All passengers are required to remove outer garments such as jackets and raincoats prior to going through the security check. In addition, any medications should be removed from your luggage and notified to the security agent. Where appropriate, these should be accompanied by the necessary paperwork. General items such as insulin devices do not require certification but should still be declared to the security agent.

Our security team are well trained to cater for any medical or mobility requirements. When going through the security check, please make the security agent aware if you have any medical devices on or in your person. If you have any metal implants or devices such as pacemakers, or are restricted to a wheelchair, you will not be required to pass through the metal detector. Instead, you will be given a standard non-invasive security search performed by a security agent of the same gender. There are private rooms available for this upon request.

If possible, medical certificates or doctor’s letters can be shown to the security agent to evidence any medical equipment or implants.

Any mobility aids will also require to be screened. Walking sticks will be put through the x-ray machine, with a temporary wooden replacement available for use by those who are able to walk through the metal detector. Wheelchairs will be physically checked by a security agent including a swab being taken to test for illegal substances.

Mobility Equipment

Our special assistance team have 14 wheelchairs which can be used by passengers who require them. There are also walking sticks available for use whilst going through the security area and yellow reserved seating areas with arm rests and better support than standard seats.

We have ambulifts available for passengers who are unable to use the steps to board the aircraft.

Passengers are able to remain in their own wheelchair from arrival to departure. It may be necessary to use one of our own aisle chairs to board the aircraft from the ambulift and get to the seat as wheelchairs generally do not fit inside the main section of the aircraft. At this point, the wheelchair will be loaded into the cargo bay.

Any electric mobility aids should be prepared for carriage in accordance with the manufacturers and airline guidelines. Generally this entails switching the ignition off with the key. Some electric mobility aids have a circuit breaker which can be switched off while a few require the battery to be disconnected from the wiring harness.

There are two types of batteries:

Wet-cell batteries: these are generally not allowed on board flights

Dry-cell batteries (including lithium batteries)

For chairs with dry-cell or lithium batteries:

the battery can remain attached to the wheelchair provided that it is secure;

the terminals do not need to be disconnected if they are already inside a cell case or isolated (to avoid any short circuits);

the motor must be disengaged.

Upon arrival at your destination, it is the responsibility of the airline to return your mobility aid to you in the same condition as you left it. Your mobility aid will be returned to you at the earliest possible point, generally as soon as you have disembarked the aircraft. Assistance for boarding and disembarking will be similar.

Temporary replacement of damaged or lost mobility equipment. In the unlikely event that on arrival of your flight you find that your mobility equipment is damage or lost, we will arrange and pay for local providers to supply temporary replacement equipment (albeit not necessarily on a like-for-like basis) or if possible by temporarily lending you our equipment. However, liability for the damage (repairing or replacing the equipment) rests with the airline.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome by all airlines operating from Inverness.

Guide or assistance dogs will only be permitted to travel if you are in possession of an official document provided by a recognised assistance dog training organisation. This must confirm that the dog is a fully-trained assistance dog or is under the control of a trainer. The dog must also be wearing a standard identifying jacket or harness. Please note that on international flights between the EU (plus Croatia, Norway and Switzerland) and the UK, guide or assistance dogs are subject to the UK Pet Passport Scheme. It is your responsibility to ensure that your guide or assistance dog fully meets the requirements of the Pet Passport Scheme.

We cannot accept liability for any animals which are not correctly documented and we recommend that you contact the airport authority of the UK airport in advance of travel in order to confirm Pet Passport details. Contact details are available via the airport websites or you can get advice from the UK Guide Dogs for the Blind Association or from the Defra Pet Travel Scheme helpline.

PRM helpline

Our special assistance service is operated by AGS (Aviation Ground Support) Assist.

To contact AGS Assist by telephone please call 01667 464117 or 07935 956779. If you would prefer to get touch by email, please contact invagxh@agsinv.avinetmail.net

We will acknowledge complaints within 3 working days of receipt and your complaint will be investigated. We aim to fully respond to all complaints within 10 working days. If your complaint is upheld you will receive an apology and where appropriate, be given details of any action that has been taken to put things right and / or make improvements to the service.

If for any reason you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can requires a further review which will be carried out under the direction of Head Office, Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd.

If you are still dissatisfied you can ask for your complaint to be looked at by an independent adjudicator.

Initiatives and Awards

Inverness Airport is always looking for ways to improve its Special Assistance and PRM services. Our current initiatives include:

Membership of the Inverness Access Panel at meetings held on:

6th July 2016

21st September 2016

30th November 2016

15th March 2017

At these meetings the airport provided an overview of PRM activities at the airport and sought advice on best practice which included provision of a call point being added next to the bus stop.

Visits to the Nairn Access Panel

10th January 2017

This was an introductory meeting highlighting to members the facilities and services available at the airport. As a result of this meeting a new aisle chair is being ordered.

The STA and LAP undertook an access audit of the airport terminal and its facilities.

We are working towards achieving the Autism Awareness Award in 2017 and are working closely with a local charity, Autism Initiatives – Highland.

In addition our PRM services provider, AGS Assist, work with Raigmore Hospital to look for innovative ways in which we can improve our communications and care for those people going to or coming from hospital.